I loved Quidditch. I actually loved it with a passion. Professor McGonagall had kindly bought me a Nimbus Two Thousand and it was now my pride and joy.

My first Quidditch match was against Slytherin. My determination to have one up on Draco spurred me on for a win. Despite my broomstick malfunctioning at one point, I managed to catch the Snitch in my mouth.

Beating Draco Malfoy was the best feeling in the world.

I stayed at Hogwarts for my first Christmas there. I didn't care, in fact I was overjoyed that I didn't have to go back to my horrible family.

"I do feel so sorry," Draco had said loudly in Potions class before Christmas, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

He looked over to me as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. I acted as if I hadn't heard. Draco had been ultra unpleasant since I beat Slytherin at Quidditch.

I dropped my ladle, making as if to get more supplies from the supply cupboard. I made sure to walk right past Draco. I gave him my best smile as I threw a handful of black beetle eyes into his cauldron. He stood, his mouth hanging open incredulously. I wriggled my fingers gleefully at him and walked on.

Moments later, his potion bubbled over, coating the floor around him in a sticky bogey coloured slime. A furious Snape had made a spluttering Draco, Crabbe and Goyle stay after class to clean it up.

Best. Day. Ever.

Ron stayed behind for Christmas also, which was the best news. We practically had the castle to ourselves and so decided to camp out in the common room together to make it more fun.

On Christmas morning, I was delighted to get actual presents. Ron and I excitedly tore them all open, leaving a large mountain of wrapping paper in our wake.

"What's this?" I asked curiously, having unwrapped a large sort of cloak. I wrapped it around my shoulders causing Ron to gasp.

"It's an Invisibility Cloak! Look!"

And sure enough, as I looked down I saw that my body had vanished.

A note had told me that it had belonged to my father. My father. It was strange having something of his.

I used the Cloak to creep around the castle after dark. One evening I came across a room which held nothing but a mirror. When I looked into it I at first saw just my reflection; my long black hair falling past my shoulders, green eyes behind my glasses. And then something strange happened - people appeared who were not in the room. A man and a woman.

The woman was very pretty with dark red hair and green eyes - just like mine. And the man had black hair and wore glasses, looking oddly like me. These were my parents.

I touched the mirror, as if I could touch them. A noticed a single tear falling from my mothers eye and when I stepped back to touch my own cheek, I realised it too was wet.

I could not leave that mirror alone. For the next few weeks I would sit for hours in front of it, just looking at my parents. Professor Dumbledore eventually caught me and told me that the mirror was to be removed.

And then there was the incident in the Forbidden Forest. It all started with Hagrid harbouring an illegal dragon. We tried to help him by arranging for Norbert to be taken quietly away, but Draco flipping Malfoy had seen us. He wasted no time in snitching - luckily, we got Norbert away in time - but it meant that Hermione, Ron, and I had landed a detention.

But the joke was on Draco because he landed one too.

We were to go into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. He wanted us to find a dead unicorn by following its blood. This was not cool. And apparently Draco agreed with me.

"You wait till my father hears about this. This is servants stuff."

Hagrid had split us into two groups and I was stuck with Draco much to both of our disgust.

"If I didn't know better, Malfoy, I'd say you were scared." I sneered, as we followed the path winding through the ever thickening wood.

"Scared, Potter?" He jumped as an owl hooted. I sniggered. "Did you hear that? Come on."

We followed the blood deeper into the forest, walking for what seemed like ages. Finally, I spotted a clearing ahead where something bright white was gleaming on the ground. A dead unicorn.

"Look-" I murmured, holding out my arm to stop Draco.

A hooded figure came crawling across the ground towards the unicorn. Both Draco and I stood frozen. We watched as the cloaked figure started to drink the unicorns blood.

Typically, Draco screamed and bolted. The hooded figure lifted its head and looked directly at me where I remained cool, calm, and awesome.

Even when my scar exploded with pain and I collapsed to the ground, I still knew I was going to be just fine. As it was, I was picked up by a centaur.

And that was the least weird thing that happened to me in the first year.

After discovering a secret room which homed a three headed dog guarding a trapdoor, Ron, Hermione and I decided to investigate, even though it meant breaking about one hundred and fifty school rules.

With little to no evidence, except for a hunch, we deduced that Snape was after the Philosophers Stone which we knew to be hidden through that trapdoor.

So, we went on quite the adventure. We got trapped in a plant called Devils Snare, and Ron nearly died in a chess game.

It still beat being locked up in a cupboard.

And then, once I did my thing with Voldemort, it was home time. My first year completed.

As the scarlet train took us back down to London, I could not help but wonder if my cousin had gotten any fatter.

*****